June 2015
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This conference considered the future for policy relating to children in care, in light of the recently announced Education and Adoption Bill.
It provided an opportunity to discuss the implementation and likely impact of Ofsted's new inspection framework for children's homes, introduced in April, as well as a new set of Quality Standards - detailed in Government's consultation on Children's homes regulations: high expectations and aspirations - which focus on 'aspirational' and 'child-focused' outcomes, including a standard to address children's wishes and feelings.
Further sessions considered measures to increase capacity for adoption, such as government’s recently announced plans to introduce regional adoption agencies. The success of the recently piloted Adoption Support Fund, which has been rolled out nationally, was also reviewed. Delegates also discussed issues surrounding residential care, as well as the extent to which provision and transitions for care leavers have improved, following research by Barnardo's that found 51% of councils had placed teenagers in B&B accommodation for a month or more in 2013-14.
